Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022
983. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department and agencies under his remit are taking to ensure the survival of the pure bred Irish draught horse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8357/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraHorse Sport Ireland ( HSI) is approved by my Department to maintain the Irish Draught Horse Studbook and it operates a comprehensive breed improvement programme and undertakes promotional and marketing initiatives in that regard.
My Department is fully committed to maximising the potential of the Draught Horse breed and continues to provide support to it both financially and with policy initiatives, particularly in relation to breeding.
Regarding financial supports I have demonstrated my commitment to the sport horse industry by increasing the budget allocated to Horse Sport Ireland from €4.0m in 2020 to €5m in 2021 and I have approved a further increase of €200,000 to €5.2m in 2022. Alongside the grant allocation to HSI my Department also operates an Equine Infrastructure grant scheme with a grant fund of €850,000 which supports initiatives by HSI in areas such as breeding, education and training.
